Komentarz do Rodzaju 45:5

למחיה FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE — i.e. that I may be to you for a preservation of life.

כי למחיה שלחני, G’d has orchestrated all that has happened between us for your own good so that by my providing sustenance in Egypt you will benefit therefrom.

ועתה אל תעצבו, "and now do not be sad, etc." We must first understand what Joseph meant when he said: "and now;" what did he want to exclude? Why did he tell the brothers neither to be sad nor to be angry? Besides, psychologically speaking, the feeling of sadness is the opposite of the feeling of anger. A sad person is humble whereas an angry person is arrogant, selfrighteous. Why would Joseph ask the brothers to be neither?

אל תעצבו, lasset den Gedanken an die Art und Weise, wie ich hierhergekommen, euch nicht die Freude über mein Hiersein, das doch ein Glück ist, trüben, rauben. עצב ist ja das Gefühl eines gezwungenen Entsagens und Verzichtens. Ihr könnt euch ruhig dem freudigen Gefühle des Glückes hingeben. — 1/בעיגיפם אל יחר, sonst immer חרה ל־, kommt in dieser Verbindung — חרה ein Gemütszustand, עינים ein Verstandesurteil — nur verneinend hier und oben Kap.31, 35 vor, und spricht in beiden Fällen aus, dass das, was dem Gemüte חרה ist, durch Einsicht des Verstandes, בעינים, in einem anderen Lichte erscheinen möge. Eurem Gefühle kann ich nicht auferlegen, dass es euch nicht leid sein soll; denn Unrecht ist Unrecht, und das Gefühl ist ein berechtigtes. Allein euer Verstand soll auch dieses Bewusstsein mildern, dadurch, "dass ihr es mit anderen Augen ansehen" lernt, so wie er es ja schon längst anders anzuschauen gewöhnt war. Möglich, dass auch das בי nicht: dass, sondern: "denn" bedeutet: denn ihr habt mich ja hierher verkauft! Ihr seid ja die mittelbare Ursache der großen glücklichen Stellung, in welcher ihr mich jetzt hier findet.

We must assume that Joseph meant that he was well aware that at present the brothers were saddened by the fact that they had sold him as they had indicated at the time they said to each other: "but we are guilty, etc." We also know from Bereshit Rabbah 91,3 that the brothers were prepared to pay a very substantial ransom to buy Joseph's freedom when they found him in Egypt. Taking this into consideration Joseph told the brothers: "do not be sad now seeing that you have located the subject of your search." He hinted that he was aware that they felt positive towards him and had been sincerely saddened by what they had done to him.

He added that they should not become angry at themselves for having set in motion all the developments which had led to this reunion. He supported his argument by saying that actually what the brothers had done had resulted in their now being able to rely on him to see them through the famine, and not become impoverished, etc.